Pacific Crest Trail Hike: Mile 1,533, Mammoth Lakes, California

The snow is melting at last, I'm happy to say. The hike is going well. I just updated my website along with some new photos. Have fun on your own adventures!

Pacific Crest Trail - Donner Pass, CA; 1,283 Miles

I'm taking a day off on Donner Lake, and have just updated my website. It's a snowy year, but progress has been good and it's been a grand adventure.

Old Station, California; Pacfic Crest Trail.

I've updated my website along with some photos. One thousand miles down, sixteen hundred more to go!

June 16, 2010 - Etna, CA; 824 Miles, Day 58

I just updated my website with the latest news of my Pacific Crest Trail hike, along with several new photos. This is a perfect town to contemplate options for the snowy trail ahead. The beautiful weather of the last few days is slowly taking a toll on the unusually deep and extensive snowpack.

Mile 704, Kennedy Meadows, CA, Pacific Crest Trail

The hike is going great. I'm headed up to Ashland to hike back south to this point to give the snows just north of here a little more time to melt. You can check out a full update, here: http://www.bucktrack.com/PCT.html

Mile 560; Mojave, California

I got into Mojave yesterday and only have a few minutes on the library computer! Wyoming and I walked along the Los Angeles Aquaduct for a day and then up over some mountains and to the road where I hitched into Mojave and she into Tehachapi for packages waiting for us there.

We've been walking through stands of Joshua trees, many species and colors of wildflowers, and continue to hike from desert to moutain forests and back. We've seen many quail and birds, as well as ground squirrels, but except for deer not many large animals. We spotted what looked to be wolves in pens a couple of days ago and got a tour of the wolf hybrid kennels. There were some super cute wolf puppies and a huge white wolf. It was interesting to see him "smiling" like a dog, a far cry from wild wolves when they encounter humans.

It has been running very cool and we walked in a heavy mist for hours yesterday in our heavy jackets and rain gear, up in the clouds. There are thousands of wind turbines around here, some of them are simply huge.

I'm thinking of "flipping" up to Ashland, Oregon, once we get to Kennedy Meadows, and then walking south back toward Kennedy Meadows to give the snow time to melt, but we'll have to see what the snow is like when we get there.

Gotta go, have a good day!

Agua Dulce, California, Mile 455: Pacific Crest Trail

I just posted on update and several photos on my website. Check it out!

Wrightwood, CA; Mile 370 Pacific Crest Trail

I'm at the library in Wrightwood with the "time remaining" clock winding down on the computer.

It was a beautiful and easy walk out of Big Bear City, back into some big trees, then through a huge wildfire burn from a year or two ago. The next day there were three creek crossings of about knee deep. There was a long walk along a canyon with the trail dropping off steeply to one side. Wildflowers are profuse, especially in places, with numerous lizards for entertainment.

I spent a day at a hot springs. An infinite supply of hot water in the backcountry is a genuine treat. Many thru-hikers stopped for a soak while i was there. What a relaxing day. I hiked with Joker and Motor for much of the next day. I camped in a canyon just above the trail. An anticipated landmark was reached the next day. There was an official sign on the trail that said "McDonald's, 1/4 Mile." I ordered every item off the dollar menu, 7 in all, and ate them no problem.

After that was a major reroute caused by another big fire from last year. It was some hot walking but with some scenic spots. Several thru-hikers and I camped in Applewhite? Campground. Water out of spigots was nice to have, the shade even moreso. I was surprised to experience the first heavy fog of the trip, things were dripping in the morning.

Yesterday was a major climb, over 5,000 vertical feet, not counting all the lesser ups and downs. It was another desert to mountains day, with hours up in the big trees and with significant snow in places. Around 5 PM I hit the road the same time as Happy Feet. We got a ride into town with the second car. I ate four tacos and an order of nachos for dinner, with a big helping of ice cream for dessert.

Southern California has big a big surprise. My impression is that it was mostly desert. There has certainly been plenty, but on this route there's also been a great deal of mountains. The variety keeps things interesting.

There are thru-hikers all over town. I saw them at the hardware store, (run by a retired smokejumper of my era, Mike Troeger!) the post office, the eateries, the grocery store, etc. There are always many errands to run in these busy town stops.

I've been getting up at about 5:30, and starting to hike about 6:00 before it gets hot. I take breaks when I need them. Most full days of walking I'm doing about 16-20 miles of walking, with my longest day on this trip about 28 miles. The pace is much more relaxed than my other hikes as there is still mountains of snow that need to melt ahead of me. Just ahead there is supposed to be deep snow.

Well, that's it for now. The next major stop is Agua Dulce. Enjoy your day!

Big Bear City, California: 265 Miles/10% of the PCT Done!

I hiked down to Highway 18 at about noon today, and it took only about 15 minutes to get a ride down to Big Bear City. The lady delivered me right to the door of Nature's Inn, where I'm staying.

The hike is continuing to go very well. My knees and feet are doing great. I really like my shoes, they are a perfect fit for me. My equipment has been peforming well too with one exception.

I hiked out of Idyllwild and was soon back into the deep snow. I found a bare place to camp and when I was chopping snow to use for cooking my ULA Ice Axe broke!! I couldn't believe it. I had stopped early in the afternoon so I spent a couple of hours making a very servicable repair. The next day was a long one of traversing the famously steep Fuller Ridge. I'd bought micro-spikes for traction and by using caution and by doing lots of map reading and floundering around by the end of the day the Saddle Junction to Fuller Ridge traverse was completed. And I was glad.

I camped by a giant boulder and had an excellent sleep. The next day could hardly have been more different. For hours there was an "endless" descent with a series of countless switchbacks. From the deep snows to baking heat. From big trees to cactus. Half way down I ran across a wildfire. It had been started by a PCT hiker, as I had feared, a fellow I had met many times along the trail. He was using a cook stove, and the high winds just blew the flames into nearby grass and the wildfire raced up the hill. He reported it and identified himself, an honorable man. For me it was a "collision of worlds" when I came through the smoking fire as both a PCT hiker and a recently retired firefighter. The sound of aircraft and the smell of smoke and the crews were all very familiar.

The trail goes through the underpass at Interstate 10. There, a hiker from the 2006 Class of PCT Thru-hikers, trail name "Chai Man," had a keg of beer! The hikers acted with remarkable constraint. ANOTHER Trail Angel, Dave, also showed up, and drove four of us to the A&W a few miles away, where we all bought ourselves a huge meal. The icy rootbeers in that heat were awesome. That eveing, I hiked to the Mesa Wind Farm, where they kindly allow hikers to get drinking water. I could see desert, dozens of wind turbines, and snowy mountains from my sleeping bag. Nearly every night I just roll out my sleeping pad and bag in a nice looking spot so camping is easy!

There was another day of very scenic desert hiking, then I climbed thousands of feet back up into the snowy mountains. There was some more easily crossed snow patches. The afternoon became windy, and I actually moved camp after it became intense. I found a place in thick scrub oak on the lee side of the ridge. It froze last night and that with the wind called for my down jacket, balaclava and long underwear in my sleeping bag.

This is a nice place to stay. I'm splitting a room with two fellow hikers, Old Scout and Danny. I got a giant burger, did my laundry, got partially caught up on email, and still have shopping and other chores to do.

I'm still ahead of schedule. There's big snow ahead in the Sierras so I don't want to go any faster, but want to give it plenty of time to melt.

Idyllwild, California

I am in this nice little town trying to update on a tiny borrowed IPhone. Yesterrday I got into deep and steep snow. It was nice having an ice axe. The trail disappeared in the snow and I saw a guy whose tracks I was following. We finally figured out where we were and headed cross-country, doing a remarkably good or lucky job of finding the "saddle" the trail ran through. Lots of beautiful big trees and dramatic mountains. The first car gave us a ride to town, people have been great. This is about 180+ miles. Feeling greT and enjoying a day off with hiker friends. Ate a half pizza and a pint of ice cream last night!

PCT Update, Made it to Warner Springs, 110 Miles

It's been a great hike so far, with unexpected weather conditions. Driving out of San Diego, a few minutes after leaving the palm trees, a car ahead of us lost control in the snow!! Four carloads of hikers met at the monument marking the southern terminus, and soon we all headed north. It wasn't long until a cold rain was falling, which later turned to sleet, enough to make the ground white. It rained much of the time over the next two days. Rather than the baking heat and lack of water we expected, my hands were so cold it was hard to open the guidebook, and every little drainage had a running brook!

The PCT kick-off gathering had hundreds of people, and it was fun to meet so many hikers including many well-known names. It was freezing hard at night, and there were some chilly people who had planned more for the heat than the cold and wet. I'm actually pretty well geared up with a rain jacket, balaclava, and warm down jacket.

The miles have been remarkably easy, with a sensibly graded trail and good footing. The landscape has varied from desert to Ponderosa pines and cedars in the snow. A couple of days ago there was a mountainside covered with so many species of cactus (cacti,) many blooming, that it looked like a botanical garden. Someone said there might be the most snow in southern CA in PC history, and someone else said there were streams running that they've never seen before. People have been really nice. Today, total strangers were camped at a spring where hikers get water, and gave us coffee and bagels for breakfast. Even better yet, they gave us chili dogs and cold drinks last night!

I want to go soak in the hot springs and other hikers are waiting for the computer, so I'm going to run. I'll post more when I get the chance.

Heading to San Diego to start the Pacific Crest Trail

This morning I'm packing and taking care of the final details before leaving. I fly to San Diego from Sheridan this evening. Tomorrow morning I'll start my hike from the Mexican border near Campo, California.

My PCT Hike Plan

I just posted my estimated hike plan for the Pacific Crest Trail this summer. I've got some friends planning to meet me along the trail and this will help all of us get a rough idea of when I'll be along certain stretches of trail. I plan to start out fairly slow to help get in good trail shape, to enjoy the early stretch of trail, and to give the snow in the high Sierrras time to melt. Thanks to Craig's PCT Planner for helping me generate my plan!

Website Update: Pacific Crest Trail, 2010

I just added three pages to my website related to the Pacific Crest Trail:

An introduction to the trail,
A detailed gear list of what I'll be carrying,
And my trail journal, which I'll update as I get the chance along the route.

Planning for the Pacific Crest Trail

For me, the planning for a long distance hike goes in several stages:
1. First is the germ of the idea.
2. Next, I decide "yup, this is what I'm going to do."
3. Then I start gathering general information, like how long it will take, what types of unique gear I might need this trip, where the trail begins and ends, the general route, and so on.
4. Next, more specific considerations: The ideal "weather window" to avoid deep snow early and late in hiking season. Options to get to the trail-head and back. Ordering new gear. Making arrangements to get my affairs in order before departure. Arranging for permits.
5. Finally, planning specifics. And that's what I've been doing all day today. My most valuable resource is "Yogi's PCT Handbook." A veteran long distance hiker, Yogi tells exactly what a thru-hiker wants to know. Distances between resupply points, best places to take a day off (known as "zero days,") the most important places to mail food, regulations for bear canisters and fire permits, where and if ice axes are necessary.

So today, with Yogi's book and Craig's PCT Planner I have been getting a good idea of where I will be mailing food packages, (for me about nine places along the trail, elsewhere I'll buy-as-I-go) where I might take days off, where I'll mail guidebooks and other printed information, and where I'll send special gear (ice axe, rain pants and mitten shells, bear canister, etc.)

Good planning is helpful, but even more helpful is being flexible and maintaining a good attitude. I'm sure I'll modify my plan when the real world situation doesn't match the theory.

I plan to start my hike on the Mexican border near Campo, CA, likely on April 22, and with a little luck finish in late September in Manning Park, BC.

I love the feeling of an imminent "grand adventure!"

Spectacular Arctic Mirage: Sunset on Denali

Thoreau said “The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched”

Yesterday as I crested the hill on my drive into Fairbanks, the setting sun was just disappearing behind Denali, aka Mt. McKinley. I've seen a lot of sunsets, and I've seen Denali many times, but never combined in such a spectacular way. Soon the sun was directly behind the mountain, which now displayed a corona of blazing plumes of blowing snow against the backdrop of a bright orange ribbon of horizon.

What made the experience even more magical is that so many factors had to coincide perfectly to produce such a rare and breathtaking scene: I happened to be there on a clear day, at the perfect time, at the right altitude, at the exact spot, under perfect atmospheric conditions, on a cold Alaskan winter day. Most intriguing, perhaps, is that Denali is about 160 miles from Fairbanks, so that even at the highest point in Fairbanks Denali should only appear as a low hill peaking over the horizon. Instead, due to an arctic mirage effect it loomed as the highest peak on the horizon.

I found a clip on Youtube that shows how the horizon can move and how Denali can sometimes be easily visible. This clip was taken a couple of years ago, about this time of year in Fairbanks, looking SSW. The colors aren't as spectacular and the plumes of snow don't show, but it does a good job of capturing the illusion. Denali is the peak on the right.

Plans for the Pacific Crest Trail: 2010

I've just starting making plans to attempt a hike of the Pacific Crest Trail next summer. The PCT is a 2,650 mile trail that runs from the border with Mexico to the Canadian border, roughly following the crest of the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains. The hike will likely begin in late April or very early May, and with luck I would finish in September. If you click on the map you can see a high resolution shot of the route. Many of those who have hiked the PCT believe it is one of the most enjoyable of the major scenic trails. I hope that is my experience as well. I look forward to another summer on the trail!

Back in Alaska

In late November I returned to my cabin near Fairbanks. I've recently updated my CDT journal.

Quite a few people have asked me if I plan to produce a DVD about my Continental Divide Trail hike last summer, similar to my Alaska Traverse video, but I didn't take any video on my hike other than some short clips with my still camera. I do have a number of my best still photos on my website however.

It sure is good to be back home and settled in after seven months on the road.

Have a good day, everyone!

Continental Divide Trail Updates at My Website

Just a reminder that this summer I'm attempting the Continental Divide Trail, and am posting periodic updates on my site.

You can check it out here! http://www.bucktrack.com/Continental_Divide_Trail_Updates.html

Buck

Packing Like Mad!

I have been preparing for weeks to leave for the CDT, but these last few days have been extremely busy. So many details to iron out; for the trip, for personal business and for Buck Publishing. Happily I'm having to deal with a rush of orders spurred by a glowing review of Alone Across Alaska in Backpacker Magazine.

Just as a reminder to everyone, I'll be posting updates of my CDT hike on my website including a duplicate of this post.

Two New Continental Divide Trail Pages

I've dedicated two new pages on my personal website to the CDT and my upcoming hike.

The first has maps and information, and the second is where I will post updates of my hike.

Continental Divide Trail

It's always fun to look ahead to new adventures. This summer I hope to hike the Continental Divide Trail starting on the Mexican border in New Mexico and roughly following the continental divide to the border of Canada, in Glacier National Park, Montana. Depending on the exact route taken, the hike, if completed, will likely be around 2,800 miles long.

They say the trail is about 70% completed, and there are many alternate routes to take. This appears to be a high snow year so I plan to be flexible. A likely scenario is hiking until I hit deep snow near the Colorado border, then "flipping" ahead to South Pass, Wyoming where I'll hike south to pick up the skipped section, which will hopefully be mostly melted off before I get to the deepest snows.

I've been rounding up maps, reading books, researching online and gathering gear. Currently I plan to start in late April, and if things go well and my creaky knees don't hurt too much, I'll likely finish in September or October.

On this trip I hope to update this site with current news and progress as I make town stops along the way, so I hope you'll check back often to read the latest news!

Major site update on www.bucktrack.com

Happy New Year Everyone!

I just spent a few days updating my site, mostly on the section about my Brooks Range Traverse. I've broken down that part of my site into several pages, including an expanded FAQ, separate pages for the planning and story/photo page, a gear review page, and a wallpaper photo page. I made a whole lot of changes, so if you see any errors like unusable links, let me know.

Check it out!

Also a reminder that with the way this blog is laid out, most new posts appear in the comments section.

Alaska Traverse DVD is here!

They arrived on my last day in Minnesota, which was just in time to ship out the orders that had piled up. Here's a direct link to the DVD page and trip story and photos.

Someone pointed out that I didn't have the running time on my website. I've now added that, but it's about 90 minutes.

Alaska Brooks Range Traverse DVD ready very soon!

Well, the DVD of my 1,000 mile solo trip across Alaska is all done and is currently being manufactured. It should be shipped out to me in a few days, and ready to ship to the public shortly thereafter.

You can see more about this trip, and/or pre-order your copy of the DVD in plenty of time for Christmas here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Miscellaneous Comments and Questions Section

If you've got anything else to say that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else, it can go here.

Alaska Brooks Range Traverse

Last summer I hiked and canoed across the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. For the story, many photos, and a gear list, please click this link. If you have any questions or would like to leave any comments, please leave them here.

Alaska Fishing: The Goodnews River

Great fishing combined with a beautiful river, lots of animals and fishing with good guys made for an awesome trip. I've got many photos and a link to the video at this web page.

Smokejumpers and Smokejumping

Smokejumping has been the greatest adventure of my life! Please check out my website and leave any questions or comments you may have about The Greatest Job in the World, here.

Questions on how to become a smokejumper? See the following: How can I become a Smokejumper? (Wildfire experience needed.)

Hiking the Appalachian Trail

If you have questions or comments about hiking the Appalachian Trail, this is the place to do it. I've got several pages and dozens of photos dedicated to my 2001 thru-hike at this link.

Alaska Hunting Adventure: 700 Miles Alone by Backpack and Raft

One fall I spent six weeks alone in the Alaska bush, hunting, fishing, backpacking and rafting. I have several web pages with many photos dedicated to this adventure, along with a link to the DVD. Questions or comments? Ask them here.

Canoeing the Mississippi River

Yes, it is possible to canoe the entire Mississippi River. I have several web pages and many photos of my trip from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico at this link. If you have questions after reading through my site, and the questions and answers below, please leave them, or comments, here. Happy adventuring!